From the beginning of time, mankind has been telling stories. We see evidence through the artifacts of the ancient world from the relics of the bronze age to the masterpieces of the classical age and eventually to the allegories that parallel our modern world. The story of Atlantis is one that has always captured my imagination.

I recently saw a documentary on Netflix (marketed through social media) that made my heart flutter. Artist and hustler Damien Hurst set out to put his money where his mouth was and finance something awesome. I really don’t think he anticipated the results of his endeavors. The crew he financed made the discovery of a lifetime and more.

They were looking for underwater treasure and what they found was more than a dream come true times a trillion. I have very few words to describe what was found because it changes what we know of our own history. Watch the documentary and if you can go see the otherworldly work that was uncovered in person don’t hesitate. The golden medusa head is my favorite piece.

Stories are the currency of connection. The way we communicate as individuals is all about self-expression. We project ourselves in the way we tell stories. This is partially ego driven but with an underlying desire to share truth with others. We all contribute to this truth as a collective primarily through social media. The internet has made our ability to share the information we wish to project extremely fast and efficient. As we venture into the age of AI (Artificial Intelligence) we face many challenges. This is where we see a double edge sword in the vision forward. The story of Terminator comes to mind.

There are two primary schools of thought. It’s the age-old battle between past, present and future. There are some who say our technology will be our downfall, while there are others who dive in head first and whole heartedly without question of danger. What do you think will happen once the world comes to realize the singularity? Stay tuned as the plot thickens.

The most informative content that I adapt to my process almost always comes from the inspirational people I follow online. There are thousands of great artists sharing their work online and many are putting content out there that is designed to help other artists grow as business professionals. There are some great people I follow on various social media platforms as well as their blogs, YouTube channels, websites and even virtual worlds. Some of them include people like Carolyn Edlund AKA ArtsyShark, Alyson B Stanfield AKA ArtBizCoach, and College Art Association or CAA. These people have amazing content that I learn so much from.

Some of the communities I engage with online include professionals that work for tech companies like Adobe, Autodesk, Unreal and Unity. They have YouTube channels where they share tips/tricks, how to tutorials, information about new features and most importantly live project and portfolio reviews. The folks over at Adobe were even kind enough to review one of my designs via live video feed. They checked out a ferrofluid style page set up I had created as an online store using Adobe XD which I was beta testing at the time. It was great to get their valuable feedback and I look forward to each live feed I manage to come across because it gives me an opening to have my work seen by everyone watching their videos.

For the time being, I’m working as a solo artist, so my cohorts and business partners have yet to be developed. From time to time I do bounce ideas for art projects off my fiancé and friends and their honesty gives me an idea about which projects are worth pursuing. Currently I have a project in the works which will be helping a fellow classmate and well-known blogger (Scott Stokes from Northwest Chefs) curate artwork for a virtual coffee shop he is creating in Second Life called BLACK SHEEP. The place looks great and will be an amazing social hub for people from all walks of life. I’m looking forward to contributing to this project and providing great conversation pieces while people enjoy some digital caffeine and ambiance.

For as long as I can remember I’ve been a creator. I was always drawing in class when I should have been solving math problems or taking notes in science. There was no medium that was off limits to my artistry. Paintings, sculptures and sketches filled my room growing up. As the years went by, I started to run out of room in my home and office. Eventually it got to the point where I had so much art stacked up that I had nowhere to make more! During my short time studying art at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, I remember being taught to be cautious about selling originals so as not to cheapen my collection to a craft as opposed to fine art. This always made me apprehensive about letting my work go. Each piece is a part of me in some way.

After working many years in jobs unrelated to my passion for the sake of paying rent I began to feel as though I wasn’t exercising my strength. Customer service has never been a problem for me, but I was selling other peoples products and not prioritizing my greatest asset, my own artwork. No wonder I wasn’t feeling fulfilled in my career. This really bothered me, so I decided to make some alterations to my direction in life. It was time for a new approach.

With my full dedication and some careful planning, I decided to go back to college, but instead of studying fine art I decided to go after a degree in multimedia graphic design. Graphic artists have increasingly caught my attention as I got older and I began to realize that computers are extremely powerful tools for creating amazing artwork. It was also evident to me that the market place for art is global and that I wanted everyone to see my work. So many sleepless nights and lists of deadlines later, I found myself with great new skills and the ability to market my own artwork online. I even took up photography!

Now art lovers can find me in several major hubs on the internet. I have my own website, a blog on WordPress, a Twitter feed, a Facebook page, an Instagram gallery, a YouTube channel and a portfolio on Behanced. Follow me on these platforms to see the full scope of my creations. From concept development, through process, to final product; see how I do what I do and find out why. My custom prints make great gifts and the originals are true treasures for any collector.

When it comes to social media platforms, it’s important to have the right ones for the market you’re trying to target. As a fine artist, a photographer and a graphic artist there are many platforms I can choose from to reach the people I’m looking to interact with. It’s also important for me to maintain a presence on other platforms as well so that the content I produce will be easier for people to locate. For example, while Facebook and Twitter are not specifically created for artists to share their work, most internet users are on these platforms so by being there, my work can reach more people.

All the while, there are platforms created specifically for artists like myself to curate work for presentation to audiences specifically looking for art. Behance, DeviantArt, Pinterest and Instagram are great examples of platforms for artists because they’re primarily visual. Then there are blog sites like WordPress that make it easy to have one central location for artwork as well as information and distribute across multiple platforms with one click using features like IFTTT (If This Then That.) Another place that’s essential for connecting with professionals who are looking for talent of all sorts is LinkedIn because it is created primarily to display a resume for companies.

With that said, I intend on deploying a variety of these tools to engage with my audience, potential buyers and employers. As a painter, sculptor, photographer, mixed media and graphic artist, I’ll be sharing mostly images of my process and artwork however there are times when I need to communicate a message, so WordPress is going to be one of my main assets. I also maintain an official website through Bluehost at corycastillon.com where a more minimalist and polished version of my portfolio can be found. All the while, I’ll be on facebook/twitter to reach larger audiences and Behance/LinkedIn to market to employers while finding inspiration from other artists. And finally, my Instagram profile will be used more for sharing my photography and some behind the scenes images of my studio.

Digital Citizenship has many aspects which make it difficult to define as everyone views the seemingly abstract concept through a different personal perspective. From my perspective Digital Citizenship can be viewed through a positive and a negative light. The principals of Polarity and Correspondence both apply. Are you a “good” digital citizen or a “bad” digital citizen? What is a “good” digital citizen and what is a “bad” digital citizen? In layman’s terms, do you play by the rules or do you make your own?

There are many people and governments who wish to restrict free speech online while there are an increasingly greater number of people who feel compelled to behave naturally without constriction. Everyone has a different perspective and comes from a different background so creating a standard for online behavior is next to impossible unless you resort to persecuting people in the real world for their online behavior. This is acceptable in a lot of cases such as the persecution of the founder of The Silk Road, a venue for illegal behavior by individuals who attempt to remain anonymous. I completely agree with this sort of persecution as it cracks down on real world legitimate crimes such as drug and human trafficking.

However, there is a flip side to this coin which is persecuting people, anonymous or not, in the real world for their opinions. Public scrutiny is now being labeled in many cases as “bullying” and being prosecuted as actual criminal behavior. This is the sort of slippery slope that we tread when it comes to being digital citizens. We’re entering uncharted waters with technology and it’s getting to the point online where no one is anonymous, and we must all face the music when it comes to how we project ourselves via internet protocol.

“Pay it forward” as they say, refers to having empathy. We ALL have a piece of pain in our hearts and doing the right thing by being kind to others is what raises the bar. We also find value in the work of others so when we see value and share that value through our circles we pay it forward. When I make artwork, and share it with others, I am rewarded when they share it with their friends and their friends share it with theirs. We have tremendous power to share information in this age and the more light we bring to the table and share with others, the better off we all are. We rise or fall as one society in this modern interconnected age.